The Ultimate Cool

Say what you want, but there are way too many cop shows out there in television land. The up side of it is that with as many as there are out there, you get to pick and choose which ones you get to ignore, or even better, which ones are well worth watching.

Those who know me well know that my favorite show on television BY FAR (and one of the few worth watching) is “Law & Order”, now in its 12th season on NBC, is television’s longest running drama currently in production, and second overall only to The Simpsons on FOX. The fact that Sam Waterston is my favorite television actor only makes me appreciate the show all the more. Last year, I wrote a column about the show on Waterston’s 60th birthday called “No Respect”, which garnered a lot of appreciative fan mail from Sam’s female fans. The fact is that Sam, along with Jerry Orbach and the rest of the continually changing cast of that show and its creator Dick Wolf and their writing staff is what makes it a star of the first magnitude in the world of otherwise pathetic television.

With the success of “Law & Order” came two spin-offs – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”. The first one involves the Sex Crimes Unit and the latter, the Major Case Squad, and both shows are hits on NBC’s schedule.

Actor and rapper Ice-T

Last season, “Law & Order: SVU” introduced a new character to the show. Detective Odafin Tutuola, or “Fin” as he prefers to be called (played by actor and rapper Ice-T - shown, right), has added a depth to the show with his being partnered with actor Richard Belzer, who is playing Detective John Munch on a fifth different show – a record for a television character.

I once read that the definition of the ultimate cool is when you don’t care if you’re cool, and if anyone in television personifies that, it is Fin. The man goes about his business and concentrates on getting the job done. He and Munch don’t care what obstacles get thrown in their way – they just go about their job getting the guilty parties.

For one who was criticized so resoundingly for his hit “Cop Killer” a number of years back, Ice-T seems to have come full circle with his terrific portrayal of the coolest cop on television, Odafin “Fin” Tutuola. For those of you who haven’t seen the show, it’s on Friday nights at 10, 9 Central and Mountain on NBC. It’s well worth the watch and 60 minutes of solid, well thought out entertainment.

I recommend it highly.

Timothy Rollins

• Photo of Ice-T courtesy of Studios USA Web Site

Copyright © 2001 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission